EVOLO Arch Competition

Jakub Galczynski

Mike Everts

Arch 524

Fall 2010

Located northwest of Nicaragua's capital
Managua, is the largest open- air landfi ll in
Central America, nicknamed La Chureca. After
the Vice President of Spain visited La Chureca,
30 million euros were granted in an effort to
restore the site. The project includes closing
down the existing dump, creating a recycling
industry, and providing housing for the
scavengers living within La Chureca. However,
many of the people working at the dump see
it as a threat. Bio_ReGrowth proposes a longterm
project that benefi ts both the scavengers
and the environment, rather then integrating
the scavengers into the city. Bio_ReGrowth

redefi nes the scavengers making them a vital
part of society. In order for this to become a
reality, a technique called pleaching will allow
natural towers to grow within the dump. Bio_
Growth revolutionizes the way our society
thinks of skyscrapers in both program and
material.
The scavengers in La Chureca suffer
from terrible health hazards do to the lack of a
safe and healthy environment. Each individual
picks through the waste, which is then sorted
and sold to suppliers of recyclable materials
earning them 1.50- 2 US dollars. Scavenged
materials include plastic, aluminum, and paper,
when recycled in bulk generates marketable
garbage. The idea behind Bio_ReGrowth is to
use existing materials within La Chureca, as
well as the land, to construct vertical farms,
which would employ local scavengers. This
in return would provide a healthier working

environment for the scavengers, while restoring
the surrounding land.
Pleaching, a technique similar to
grafting, is used to produce the vertical farms'
structure. Although pleaching is 2,500 years old,
Bio_ReGrowth is taking a modern approach to
this historic technique. The project will make its
contribution by using it as a building structure,
which would allow for pleaching at new heights
to resolve environmental and social issues.
Bio_ReGrowth uses the existing materials;
aluminum, paper, and plastic, to scaffold milled
surfaces specifying a trees growth. Pleaching
the trees creates a triangulated structural
lattice that would inevitably create vertical
spaces for program. At the main fl oor, useable
waste is organized and recycled. What is left of
the waste moves up into the vertical tower to
be used as compost for sun farming. Certain
plants are grown into the structure allowing

it to mature. The recycled materials, as well
as the plants give back to the city, generating
an income for the scavengers. Bio_ReGrowth
takes what the public defi nes as waste, the city
dump and scavengers, and makes them both a
vital part of society.
Besides saving La Chureca, Bio_
ReGrowth addresses the issues found in the life
cycle of today's skyscrapers and additionally
brings awareness to a new skyscraper
technology called pleaching. Modern day
construction goes through many resources
just to ship and produce materials. After the
building has aged, most of the materials go
to a landfi ll. In contrast, Bio_ReGrowth uses
existing resources in addition to actually
decreasing environmental issues. The outside
skin is regulated by orientation and density as
it relates to crop types. These variables become
key elements in the form of each tower.